Inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame last year, Toronto new wave band Platinum Blonde are experiencing a renaissance some forty years after their debut. The Journal spoke with singer Mark Holmes ahead of the band’s upcoming concerts in Quebec as the opening act for Billy Idol in the coming days.
“I don’t want to live in the past. I don’t like people using the word ‘retro’ when they talk about the band or talking about us as a band from the 1980s. We’re still current.”
Of course, anecdotes from the past come back during the twenty-minute interview with the singer, particularly about his visits to Montreal. “Some of our best moments took place in this city. I remember a after-party where Pierre [Elliott] Trudeau had come. Run-DMC were in the same hotel as us and I think they were playing the next day. It was crazy, it was such a wonderful time.”
Canadian band Platinum Blonde, pictured here in the 1980s. Photo courtesy of Sony Music
Reunion with Idol
After a boom period in the 1980s, driven by hits like Standing in the Dark, Not in Love et Doesn’t Really MatterPlatinum Blonde split up for about twenty years before making a comeback in 2010. However, it was last year that everything really took off for the band. At the event for Canada’s Walk of Fame in September 2023, Mark Holmes, Chris Steffler and Sergio Galli performed their hit together Crying Over You.
Shortly after, Live Nation offered the band the opportunity to open for Billy Idol on his Canadian tour. For the Canadian rockers, it was a nice nod, as they had opened for Idol on his first major tour in the 1980s.
“He had just come out Rebel Yell. There was already White Wedding et Dancing with Myself which worked very well, Holmes recalls. […] We are happy to have him back. Plus, Billy is in great shape. His voice sounds even better than it did back then!”
A legendary club
Originally from England, Mark Holmes has lived in Toronto for several decades. It is there that he operated the legendary Mod Club Theatre, which was active from 2002 to 2020.
“It’s a place that’s been important to the city,” he says. “There’s been major artists who’ve played there just before they exploded onto the international scene, like Amy Winehouse, Katy Perry, The Killers. Muse was our very first concert. We’ve been friends ever since.”
Billy Idol and Platinum Blonde will be performing Friday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal and Monday at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.
